Microsoft Word research method fm doc

Study designs could be exploratory, descriptive or analytical 
1. Exploratory studies 
An exploratory study is a small-scale study of relatively short duration, which is carried out 
when little is known about a situation or a problem. It may include description as well as 
comparison. 
For example:
A national AIDS Control Programme wishes to establish counseling services for 
HIV positive and AIDS patients, but lacks information on specific needs patients 
have for support. To explore these needs, a number of in-depth interviews are 
held with various categories of patients (males, females, married and single) 
and with some counselors working on a programme that is already under way. 
When doing exploratory studies we describe the needs of various categories of patients and 
the possibilities for action. We may want to go further and try to explain the differences we 
observe (e.g., in the needs of male and female AIDS patients) or to identify causes of 
problems. Then we will need to compare groups. 
 
If the problem and its contributing factors are not well defined it is always advisable 
to do an exploratory study before embarking on a large-scale descriptive or 
comparative study. 
 
2. Descriptive studies: 
Descriptive studies may be defined as studies that describe the patterns of disease 
occurrence and other health-related conditions by person place and time. 
 

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Research methodology 
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Personal variables include
: basic demographic factors, such as age, sex marital status or 
occupation, as well as the consumption of various types of food or medication use. 
Characteristics of place refer to the geographic distribution of disease, including variation 
among countries or within countries, such as between urban and rural areas. 
With regard to time, descriptive studies may examine seasonal patterns in disease onset,